Twenty-three mysterious flavors combine in one of the most clandestine recipes ever compiled. Dr. Pepper, one of the nation’s most popular independent soft drinks, (as in it isn’t owned by Coke or Pepsi) has a secret formula composed of varying amounts of twenty-three different flavoring agents that many have tried to decipher.

No one can prove with certainty what these twenty-three are, but a few educated guesses and scientific research will soon yield at least a kernel of truth. Field-research has yielded some interesting results. Before the conclusion is revealed, a bit of background should be brought up.

Dr. Pepper was first served on December 1^st, 1885. In the last one-hundred and twenty years the soda hasn’t changed much. The first new flavor wasn’t added until the early twenty-first century.

Dr. Pepper is classified by United State’s Federal Trade Commission as a pepper flavored drink and therefore it is not subject to the same privileges as a cola. This created a problem when Dr. Pepper tried to merge with Coca Cola in the mid-nineties.

The Tiger Times conducted a study recently, using the students of Tabb High as subjects. Participants were given a five ounce cup of Dr. Pepper and asked to list the top five flavors they tasted. Of the 100 surveys handed out, 81 were returned.